The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-01-27
An Army Of NonkeYs-A Novel Rridge

Al 0lmy VI MoRKeys-A Novel Bridge
They are coming and will mosi
likely cross the river nv the rocks I,
yonder," observed Raol. II
"How, swim itf' / asked. It is
a torrent therep'
'Oh, no." answered the F,ench.
man; monkeys would rather 90
into fire then water. If they can
not leap the stream they will
bridge it,
Bridge it! and how?"
stop moment captain and you
shall see" The half human voices
now sounded nearer and we could
perceive that the animals were ar
preaching the spot where we low.
Presently they appeared upon the
opposite bank, headed by an old |
gray captain, and differed like so
many soldiers. They were, as Raol
stated, of the comadreja or ring
tailed tribe.
One-an aid de-camp, or chief
pioneer, perhaps ran out on a pro-
jecting rock and after looking
across the stream, as if calculasnp
the distance, scampered back and
appeared to communicate with the
leader. This produced movement
in the troops. Commands were is
sued and fatigue parties were de-
tailed and marched to the front
Meanwhile several of the coma,lre
jas-engineers, no doubt-ran alien
the bank, examining the trees on
both sides.
AT length they all collected
around tall cotto wood that grew
over the narrowest part OF the
stream, and twenty or thirty of
them scampered up its trunk. o.
reaching high point, the foremost
"a strong fellow-ran ont upon a
limb, and taking several turns of
his tail around it, slipped of and
hung head downwards. The next
on the limb, also q stout one, climb
ed down the body of the first, and
whipping his tail tightly round the
neck and forearm of the after,
dropped off in his turn and hung
head down. The third repeate !.
the man9uvre upon the second and
the fourth upon the third, and sc
on, until the last one upon The
, etrlng rested his fore paws upor
the ground.
The living chain commenced
swinging backward and forward
like the pendulum of clock.
The motion was slight at first
| but gradually increased, the lower
most monkey striking his hands
q violently on the earth as he passed
( the tangent of the oscillating curve
8 Several others upon the limbs ahov,
4 aided the movement.
The continued until the monke,
g at the end of the chain was thrown
= among the branches of a tree OF
the opposite bank. Here, after tw,
8 or three vibrations, he clutched
s limb and held fast. This move.
2 ment was executed adroitly, just a
the culmlDating point of oscfla.
ton, in order to save the inferno
date links from the violence of
s too sudden jerk.
The chain was now fast at boil
i ends, forming a complete suspen
sion bridge, over which the Who'll
troop, to the number of 400 or 500
passed with the rapidity of though,
IT was one of the most comica
:, sights l ever beheld to witness III
e quizzical expression Of the connie
! nances along that living chain.
Ell The troop was now on the othe
)! side, but how were the amin al
8 forming the bridge to get them
q selves ovcrp This was the oues
: ton which suggested itself. Ia AM
I testify by number one letting go hi
S tail. But the other side was niue
l. lower down, and number one, wit
e half dozen of his neighbors woul
he dashed against the opposit
G bank or soused in water.
VI Here, then, was problem. an
g we waited with some curiosity 70
n Its solution. 1t was soon solvee
: A monkey was now seen attachin
II his tail to the lowest on the bridg,
a another girded him in a simila
y manner, and another, and so or
until dozen more were added t
% the string. These last were a
powerful fellows; and running up
y high limb they lifted the bridge in
IT to a position almost horizontal
n Then scream of the last mon Ike
u of the new formation warned tn
e tail end that all was ready, anu tn
k next moment the whole chain wa
Il swung over and landed safely o
l. the opposite bank. The lowermos
l. links dropped off like meltin
I candle while the higher ones leape
l. to the branches and came down b
& the trunk. The whole troop the
G scampered off into the ehaparal an,
e Observation-Disclosures in Mex
p co by Lieut.. M. Reid.